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Powder-keg jails put public at risk

Dozens of already full jails are being ordered to take in more inmates (Chris Ryan)

BRITAIN’S jails face a summer of dangerous overcrowding with the public being put at risk because of a “political failure” by ministers, the prisons watchdog has warned.

With dozens of already full jails being ordered to take in more inmates and redundant staff asked to return to work, the chief inspector of prisons said the system was not coping with a population that is reaching bursting point.

“The situation is extremely serious and I am very concerned,” Nick Hardwick said yesterday.

Laying the blame for any future disorder, or rioting, on the government, Hardwick warned that because of staff shortages, inmates were being locked up for 23 hours a day causing “huge tension”.

“This is a political and policy failure — this is not the fault of staff,” he said, adding that “demands on the system have completely outstripped the resources available to them. Prisoners, staff and the public are at risk